sonicwfandomcom-20200216-history
Turkey in the Straw
"Turkey in the Straw" is a well-known American folk song dating from the early 19th century. The first part of the song's tune may be derived from the ballad "My Grandmother Lived on Yonder Little Green" which was a derivative of the Irish ballad "The Old Rose Tree." Originally a tune for fiddle players, it was first popularised in minstrel shows during the late 1820s and early 1830s by blackface performers, notably George Washington Dixon and Bob Farrell. Lyrics This version mentions tuckahoe (Peltandra virginica, also called green arrow arum), an edible wetland plant with long petioles: One traditional version has a chorus with these lyrics: Another goes: Here, "Reubens" refers to farmers. And another: The Full Lyrics: There are versions from the American Civil War, versions about fishing and one with nonsense verses. Folklorists have documented folk versions with obscene lyrics from the 19th century. The Wiggles and Sharon Lois and Bram use these lyrics: Another version is called "Natchez Under the Hill". The lyrics are thought to have been added to an earlier tune by Bob Farrell who first performed them in a blackface act on August 11, 1834. Another one goes: Harry C. Browne recorded a version in 1916 called "N##### Love a Watermelon Ha! Ha! Ha!". This version relied heavily on the offensive and widespread coon stereotype. In 1942, a soundie titled, "Turkey in the Straw" was created by Freddie Fisher and The Schnickelfritz Band. (Directed by Sam Coslow and Produced by Josef Berne). There are two versions to the chorus that are sung. The first goes: Followed by: In Barney & Friends they used these lyrics: Mickey's Fun Songs and Sesame Street use these lyrics "Zip Coon" Another song, "Zip Coon", sung to the same tune as "Turkey in the Straw", was popularized by Dixon and flourished during the Andrew Jackson administration. This version was first published between 1829 and 1834 in either New York or Baltimore. All of the above performers claimed to have written the song, and the dispute is not resolved. Ohio songwriter Daniel Decatur Emmett is sometimes erroneously credited as the song's author. "Zip Coon" has a vocal range of an octave and a minor sixth. Both the verse and the chorus end on the tonic, and both begin a major third above the tonic. In the verse, the highest note is a fifth above the tonic and the lowest is a minor sixth below. In the chorus, the highest note is an octave above the last note, and the lowest is the last note itself. The song stays in key throughout. The song gave rise to the blackface minstrel show character Zip Coon. Lyrics "Zip Coon" has many different lyrical versions. Thomas Birch published a version in 1834, while George Washington Dixon published a version called "Ole Zip Coon" with different lyrics circa 1835. Both Birch's and Dixon's versions keep the same chorus and the first four stanzas: In subsequent stanzas, both lyricists talk about events in the life of Andrew Jackson, Birth of President Jackson's battle with the Second Bank of the United States and Dixon of General Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans. When the Mexican–American War broke out, Dixon published a new version of "Zip Coon" with updated lyrics pertaining to the war: The chorus "Zip a duden duden duden zip a duden day" influenced the song "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" in Walt Disney's 1946 adaptation of Joel Chandler Harris' Uncle Remus tales, Song of the South. Another version of "Old Zip Coon" with new self-referencing lyrics by David K. Stevens (1860–1946) was published in the Boy Scout Song Book (1920). Stevens' lyrics contain no direct racial references other than the title of the song itself: Performance History Artistic and popular use of "Turkey in the Straw" through the years has established the song as an item of Americana. * "Turkey in the Straw" was Billy the Kid's favorite song."Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride", by Michael Wallis. * In 1909 the composer Charles Ives incorporated the tune, along with other vernacular American melodies, into his orchestral Symphony No. 2.https://performingarts.georgetown.edu/Charles-Ives-America Georgetown University:"Charles Ives's America"J. Peter Burkholder, '"Quotation" and Paraphrase in Ives' Second Symphony', 19th Century Music, ''Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 3-25. 26 July 2013 * According to survivors, "Turkey in the Straw" was among songs played by the band of the [[RMS Titanic|RMS ''Titanic]] at one point during the sinking on April 14 and April 15, 1912.Fitch, Tad and J. Kent Layton, Bill Wormstedt (2012) On a Sea of Glass: The Life and Loss of the RMS Titanic. Gloucestershire: Amberly. p. 303 *"N##### Loves a Watermelon" (1916) parody recorded by Harry C. Brownehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97nqGtuNJmw * In 1920, American composer Leo Wood wrote the lyrics to Otto Bonnell's version of "Turkey In The Straw, A Rag-Time Fantasy" which was published by Leo Feist Inc., New York. * In 1925, American composer Joseph W. Clokey (stepfather of Gumby creator Art Clokey) wrote a choral ballad, "The Musical Trust," that incorporated "Turkey in the Straw" (with a reference to "Zip Coon") and other traditional American tunes. * In 1926, "Turkey in the Straw" was recorded by the old-time band Gid Tanner & His Skillet Lickers with Riley Pucketthttp://countrydiscography.blogspot.no/2009/07/gid-tanner.html. * In 1928, this was used as the base melody in the famous early Mickey Mouse cartoon Steamboat Willie.Rimgaila Salys, The rendering of the tune in the cartoon is noted for being one of the first instances of successful synchronization in animated films. The tune became prominent in Mickey's animated series and was used in many subsequent cartoons in the 1920s and '30s. * In 1942 Carson Robison performed an anti-Axis Powers version of Turkey in the Straw. * In the video game Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind, the music used in chapters 10-12 contains a sample of Turkey in the Straw. * The song is the base to "Wakko's America" on the hit children's TV show Animaniacs. * A looped segment of the song is used during the Astro Chicken minigame in Space Quest III, and subsequently used in later Space Quest games as easter eggs or whenever Astro Chicken is shown. * The song is one of the selectable songs in Wii Music. * The animated adaptation of Rosie's Walk uses "Turkey in the Straw" as incidental music. * Erno Dohnanyi used the tune (and also two other traditional American folktunes) in his composition American Rhapsody (1953). * The melody is played by many ice cream trucks;San Diego Reader in 1942 Raymond Chandler's novel The High Window, the protagonist recounts "The Good Humor man went by in his little blue and white wagon, playing 'Turkey in the Straw' on his music box". * The song is played in the MSX game Mouser (1983). * The theme music of short-lived WWF character The Gobbeldy Gooker was an instrumental rock version of the song. * In the episode of Sonic Boom entitled "Don't Judge Me", during Stick's time on the witness stand during Sonic's trial, she stated that Dr. Eggman got songs stuck in people's heads. Afterwards, she sings "Well, if frogs had wings and snakes had hair, And automobiles went flyin' thro' the air...". * The song "Verishuvi" of the Japanese Idol group Sakura Gakuin use this melody as opening and interlude. * The instrumental "Hoedown" from Emerson Lake and Palmer's album Trilogy quotes the melody. * In 2015 Japanese singer Ai had a surprise hit with her version of the song, done for a phone commercial, called "Everyone Is A Hero" ("みんながみんな英雄"). https://www.gooume-jp.com/works/528 * "Why Don't You Love Me" by Hank Williams is based around this melody. See also *Coon song *Do Your Ears Hang Low? *Unsquare Dance References Further reading * Fuld, James (1966). The Book of World Famous Music, Classical, Popular and Folk. External links * Turkey in the Straw * Old Zip Coon * * NPR: Recall That Ice Cream Truck Song? We Have Unpleasant News For You * The New Republic: That Viral Story About the Racist Ice Cream Song Is Wrong Category:American folk songs Category:American country music songs Category:Blackface minstrel songs Category:Children's songs Category:19th-century songs Category:Songs of the American Civil War Category:Year of song unknown